This invention relates to agricultural machines known as mower-conditioners. A mower-conditioner combines, in a single machine, the actions of crop mowing or cutter and crop conditioning. More particularly, the present invention is applicable on mower-conditioners employing so-called "satellite" mowers in which at least one disc-type cutter unit is rotatable about its own axis and also rotatable about an axis of a member, such as a drum, on which it is mounted.
In order to realise the full potential of the disc-type cutter, it is necessary to clear cut crop material therefrom immediately cutting has taken place. If cut crop material is allowed to dwell on the disc-type cutters, it increases the load on the latter so that more power is consumed and also there is a high risk of the crop being further acted upon by the cutters to produce short pieces of cut crop which normally is undesirable.
However, in mower-conditioners the clearing of cut crop from the cutter units has to be consistent with carrying out an effective conditioning action on the cut crop and it is an object of the present invention to meet this requirement.